Oct 2, 2014 -- The heartland of Australia’s
sugar industry is on the cutting-edge of a new way of farming, but surprisingly growing crops is not the sole focus.

Instead farmers, millers and transporters in Queensland's Herbert River sugar cane region are using revolutionary,
real-time smart mapping technology to track every stage of the supply chain, from farm to factory.

Speaking from the Ozri 2014 geospatial conference in Adelaide today, one of the heads of the program said many people don’t understand that agriculture is not just about farming.

“The Herbert River sugar industry is home to 560 growers, 23,000 canefields, 58 separate harvesting businesses and two mills,” said Raymond De Lai, Manager of non-profit industry group Herbert Resource Information Centre (HRIC).

“The individual efficiencies of these stakeholders are a vital part of the industry’s smooth operation.

“With this
state-of-the-art technology, we are able to synchronise the steps of the supply chain by letting each link know how the others – and the harvest – are progressing.

“We expect the net effect across harvesting, transport and delivery to return as much as $25 million to the region annually.”